History

Founded on 30 December 1869 by Auguste Durand (1830–1909) and Schoenewerk. Auguste Durand was a composer and organist who studied at the Paris Conservatoire as a classmate of Cesar Franck and Camille Saint-Saëns. He served as organist at St. Ambroise, St. Roch, St. Vincent de Paul, and Ste. Geneviève in Paris. Durand and Schoenewerk purchased the Paris music publisher Gustave-Alexandre Flaxland (1821–1895) – whose catalogue of approximately 1200 titles was started in 1847 – on the same day the new company was founded. With the Flaxland purchase, they acquired the French rights for the early Wagner operas.

After 20 years Schoenewerk withdrew from the business in late 1891 (19 November). The long-lived founder directed the company for another 20 years. Then Durand’s son Jacques Durand (1865–1928) assumed control after his father’s death in 1909, bringing in his cousin Gaston Choisnel (d. 1921) as a partner.

The second half of the 20th century saw more expansion. The company was reorganized as a Société à Responsabilité Limitée in 1947 and acquired the publishers Amphion and Max Eschig in 1987. In 2000 this expanded Durand was sold to BMG and merged with Salabert.

Addresses

France

Paris

4, Place de la Madeleine (1870–1980)

25 Rue de Faubourg St. Honoré (1981 – present)

Plate numbers

Regular Issues

Note: The plate numbers preceded by "D. S. & Cie." were published 1870–1886, those with the prefix "D. S." from 1887–1891, those with the prefix "A. D. & F." or "D. & F." from 1891–ca. 1960 ("D. & Cie." plate numbers were also used in this period), and those with "D. & C." after 1960. Durand retained the plate number when a work was re-engraved but would update the prefix (D. S. & Cie. would be changed to D. & F.). Plate numbers 1 though approx. 1200 were taken over from the Flaxland catalogue from the start. If a work was merely reprinted from existing plates, the old prefix would often be replaced with the new one, but sometimes left untouched. Durand also issued a new plate number when a score was reproduced in a reduced, study score format, even when it is merely a photographic reduction. Dates printed on the score itself or confirmed by reliable sources such as a composer's catalog, the Hofmeister Monatsbericht (sometimes...), or Lesure's Dictionnaire des éditeurs de musique français appear in plain text, those found WorldCat or similar library listings are in parens, while dates implied only by the plate-number sequence are given in parens with a question mark. Warning and caveat! Hofmeister Monatsbericht sometimes- often- gives a date many years later than the actual first printing in France of a work. Use if possible the Bibliographie de la France instead.